Tag Archives: whitewater kayaking

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American Whitewater

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South Fork of the Yuba American + Whitewater: What is there not to love?

I am proud to say that I have been a member of American Whitewater (AW) for almost 15 years. Even when I was in college, waiting tables and taking student loans, I found a way to mail my membership check. I don’t share this to convey that I am special. In fact, I am ashamed to say that I haven’t done more for AW.

Money and time are two things we all wish we had more of, right? But how often do you spend the two just trying to get closer to a wild, free flowing river? The point is you can afford to be a member. You can afford to support the only organization working exclusively to conserve and restore whitewater rivers. The world certainly isn’t making any more of them.

AW leverages your modest membership dues in combination with the collective sum to:

  • Protect Rivers
  • Restore Flows
  • Improve Public Access
  • Increase Safety Awareness
  • And Celebrate Life on Moving Water

Just look at what they have accomplished in California.

American Whitewater

Of course, I love AW’s choice of photos for California! It was actually quite a surprise when I picked up the mail today and looked through their 2009 Summer Appeal.

Meanwhile, AW has made many more strides in the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, Northeast, Rockies Pacific Northwest, and the Midwest. None of these efforts are ever easy and often mired in bureaucracy, lobbying, and special interests, yet they keep going, deriving renewed motivation from sometimes small but significant steps forward for the benefit of us all.

So, please don’t let the river gods trounce you in giant nasty hole. Join Now! 

Musings

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Spring in Lake Tahoe is one of my favorite seasons. Snow still blankets the mountains of the Sierras, and the lower elevation rivers rise as the days grow longer and warmer. It is this time of year that I find myself having to make the difficult decision of skiing vs kayaking.

As I prepare for an upcoming California road trip, I can tell you that the gear I am planning on taking is getting a bit overwhelming. Just thinking about trying to fit it all into a little biodiesel powered VW TDI has me wondering if I need a semi-truck.

No matter what the weather dictates, I inevitably find myself catching up on whitewater community sites like boof.com and americanwhitewater.org, as well as looking through old kayaking photos to remind myself that I still know how to boat. Here is a little slideshow  of some kayaking” I have accumulated from years past. Can you tell which ones I took with an old 35mm camera and slide film and then scanned?

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Sunday Discovery

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Despite all of my comings and goings, one particular pastime I am quite fond of are the slow Sunday mornings where I sit about the house and catch up on magazines and my favorite bloggers. It is inevitably and ironically fueled by an excessive amount of coffee, and an equally heart-wrenching amount of high-cholesterol food – yummm yummm bacon.

It was just this past Sunday that I happened to be flipping through the Asheville School Alumni Magazine, “Achievement” when what should appear before my eyes? My own self…sort of.

It is a common misconception that I paint the web with my own form rather than those of others. I have an ego, but maybe not quite as large as one might expect. The picture is one that I took of a friend of mine, not me. But it is no matter; I was pleased to see it. I hold a special place in my heart for the Asheville School. Incidentally, here is a picture of me. Okay, ego resolved.

The blog post the caption below the picture refers to is here.

And a special thanks to what I do. Twelve Horses, your reach is far and wide! :~)

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South Fork of the American

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This is some footage from this past summer that I had sitting around, and being the type of person that does not like to waste anything, I decided to slap together a quick video. The main point to it is – the video is of a friend of mine, Brad Brewer, who I met in college at Clemson University, and subsequently taught me how to creek boat years ago.

Around 1995, there were not nearly as many whitewater kayakers as there are now, and there were even fewer people running steep creeks and big waterfalls. Brad was one of the few. He also knows a thing or two about playboating…

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Cherry Creek Class V Downriver Race

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5 swims and fun had by all. At least no one vomited from exhaustion like the guy who just beat me by a few seconds the last time I raced. While I didn’t get a chance to shoot video this time around, you can check out some Cherry Creek action from this video I put together a few weeks ago.

Thanks to Keith for all the logistics, effort, and money he applied to make it a great party, complete with live music by Kipchoge right on the banks of the Tuolumne River. Here is a little taste of the tunes that I shot from my beach chair as I relaxed under the stars. Not very professional, but basically I just wasn’t into filming and simply wanted to listen. Either way, it gives you a taste. Notice you hear the river directly behind them. We are an hour away from pavement down a steep and treacherous road.

Here are a few mug shots of some of the racers and general attendees.